On the Start of a Whole New Journey
by terracannon876
Summary: Lacking a voice, Red has always felt trapped within the small confines of Pallet. However, at ten, he sets out on his Pokemon journey, and he finds himself exceeding the expectations of everyone he knows. Gen, no shipping.
1. Green Dreams

Finally, here's the Pokemon fic. Sorry for anyone who's waited for it!

This fic was written with a few cliches in mind. You could think of it as a creative attempt to make all the cliches work in a single fic, while still being believable. I also put a bit of effort into trying to make the world somewhat more realistic, but not so realistic that Pokemon are committing mass murder every which way.

I'm also playing with a new writing style that is vastly different from the fics I've published thus far, I think.

I'm dedicating this fic to a good friend of mine, who shall be referred to as bonafide here. Thank you for all the help and support (and urging; gods, I probably never would have gotten this out if it weren't for him).

I welcome you to the fic and hope you enjoy it!

And please, feel free to review. Rather, please do review.

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><p><strong>Prologue<strong>

_Green._

_Green was everywhere, surrounding him. The only break in color was the white shapes moving hither and thither, scurrying like ants at some job – though he had no idea what._

_Someone was talking to him. He looked towards the voice. Another tall white pillar, but this one was identifiable by slight differences. White draped over the figure and spilled towards the ground but never reached it. Light blanketed over the dark red, almost black in the shadows of poor lighting, against a background forest of green monochrome. Only the base of the figure reflected anything – shiny leather that must have been meticulously polished free of dirt and dust daily._

_Words were spilling from the figure's mouth only to never reach his ears. The hard-lined cavern opened and shut soundlessly. His attention drifted, and that was when he saw something moving in the corner of his vision, right behind the mosaic of white and red and black that was mouthing something to him._

_He cocked his head to look behind the white curtain, much as though he were playing hide-and-seek._

_Before him was a smaller figure, hair dark and skin pale, hands clutching the white curtain tightly. He had a pair of large clear eyes._

_Eyes that reflected the shadows, himself in a swirling amalgam of red and green._

_Innocence._

_Potential._

_And then the silence transformed from a muffled dullness to suffocating chokehold and the world closed in upon itself without a moment's notice._


	2. The Beginning

For those who have noticed the disparity in names after they've read this chapter, Satoshi is Red. Satoshi is not Satoshi from the anime. The reason behind the name change will not be in this chapter, but it will be covered later. Please don't flame me on this.

The main resources for this story will be the game, manga, and anime, in that order of importance. I've also taken inspiration from quite a few other fics here on this site, which you can see a list of on my profile.

Enjoy the first full chapter!

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><p><strong>Chapter 1<strong>

There was a loud flurry of sheets and blankets, and from the mound erupted Satoshi, still gasping for air. He blinked blearily, rubbing his eyes to rid himself of the last vestiges of sleep. He had had a dream, a nightmare, perhaps, but he no longer remembered. He remained sitting in the soft shadows, trying to grasp at the fading wisps of green, but it was to no avail. Instead, he looked up, out the window. The sun wasn't up yet.

He left his covers unfolded and pulled on a simple T-shirt. Summer at Pallet Town was a nice mix of hot and cold such that it was always a comfortable temperature. Creeping down the hall and then the stairs, he noted that his mother was still asleep, and the resident guard dog, Rei, was asleep at his bed. The orange and black fur rippled through its soft breaths, accompanied by a bit of an odd gasp-whimper mixture. A small smile slipped past Satoshi's lips; the Growlithe had a bad habit of dropping off during his duty, as well as a predilection for snoring. The boy shuffled out the door; he made sure to close it quietly because, even asleep, a Growlithe's ears were sharp.

The town was still asleep; not a person was on the street. A sudden storm of flapping erupted in the distance. Satoshi looked up and caught sight of a flock of Pidgey taking wing to the cloudless sky. The barest edge of the sun – or Ninetales' Orb, as it was commonly called – was visible, a haze of pale yellow and blue heralding its rise. The town was still empty and would be until it had completely crawled up from the depths of the horizon.

He closed his eyes … inhaled, exhaled. The crisp air crept into his lungs, and he smiled at the sensation. He stayed that way for a few minutes, relishing the moment and trying to calm his excitement, for today was the day.

It was much too early, but that didn't matter. Satoshi started walking down the road, past the houses, past the fences, and down the hill, moving faster and faster with each step. By the time he had crossed the last cottage, he was running around and up the hill towards the world-renown, highly-acclaimed Professor Oak's lab.

Oak was a man no one knew much about, but no one could dispute his influence in the Pokémon world. Indeed, it wasn't that he was gruff or unsociable; quite the opposite. He'd invite the locals for tea and new prospective trainers were always welcome to a tour around the lab (after the more dangerous Pokémon had been herded away, of course). It was just that he'd spend so much time in his lab that he'd almost forget the outside world existed. Time existed only as a measure to know when to switch from studying Fearow to Noctowls. In addition, it was almost impossible to get the professor to talk about anything unrelated to Pokémon.

Well, that was hardly unsurprising, considering his reputation, which wasn't one given simply because Oak had a lot of money (which was true) or because he had many connections (which was also true). He had well and truly earned his title as the Number One Expert on Pokémon in the Kanto region. It was rumored that he was the only one to look into a Feraligatr's jaws to count the number of teeth it had and pull his head out intact.

More pertinent to this story, though, Oak was one of the only places in Kanto where new trainers could receive their Trainer License and new Pokémon at the age of ten. It was something many kids looked forward to starting – never mind that they usually ran crying back to their mothers an hour later, at worst, and a week later, at best. The Pokémon journey was a building of character. It was a test of strength, of the body, mind, and soul. You couldn't expect a ten-year-old to go out and snatch up all eight badges in Kanto and saunter off to the League, something even experienced adults had trouble with.

That didn't stop them from dreaming, though.

And so ten-year-old Satoshi found himself standing at the door of Oak's lab, panting and much too early for the reception. He looked around at the sun again. It was still only just barely over the tree line. He glared at it – whether it was because of the rays directly hitting his pupils or because he was cursing it for being so slow a timepiece was anyone's guess. He turned back to the door. He rang the doorbell, and he heard its chime ring through the house, but there were no accompanying footsteps, no shout of "I'm coming!" This wasn't unusual. Satoshi didn't even blink as he rerouted his course of action to Plan B.

He knelt by the front step and turned towards the patch of bushes to the right. There was a small bit of space behind the boxwood, just enough for an adult hand. Satoshi reached in, fumbled around a bit, and came out clutching his prize – the lab key.

When he was still a kid (meaning when he was still ineligible for the License, in his and many other children's minds), he had spent hours upon hours at Oak's lab. He had never been a very personable boy, and while his neighbors said he was a "nice boy," they kept their distance. It didn't bother Satoshi much. It was far better to be treated coolly than to be treated like a glass figurine that would break at a touch, or even worse, like he was a handicapped paraplegic forced to live his life out in solitude.

As we've already established, though, Oak was no ordinary man. He noticed Satoshi's "disability" about as much as he noticed what flowers his neighbors were growing in their front yard gardens. That one day, long ago, when Satoshi had stumbled upon his front door step dirty and bruised, Oak had brought him in, cleaned him up, given him a hot cup of tea before promptly settling down and talking about the dietary differences between Pidgey and Spearow. An elementary topic, to be sure, but it had brought a smile to Satoshi's face, and he'd come back the next day, and the next, and the one after that.

It didn't matter that the old professor was an odd eccentric who perhaps loved Pokémon more than he cared about the entire human race – family being the exception. They were oddities together, here.

Inside the lab, the stench of stale bread and bad coffee greeted him, and Satoshi couldn't help but cover his nose and mouth with his hands. For a genius, or perhaps because he was one, the man was horribly untidy. Once upon a time, he had tried to help clean the mess, but everything just fell out of place again two minutes later, like it was their destiny to remain amongst the clutter. Papers were spread over every visible corner of every desk in the room (and that in itself was quite a number). The assistants obviously weren't in because not only would they have answered the door, but they would have at least picked up the scales, thermometers, and tape measures littering the floor along with beakers and graduated cylinders. Again, it was nothing new, but it still appalled him every single day, like a horrible experience that kept erasing itself from his memory.

He picked his way past the overturned chairs and test tubes, staying close to the wall, making a slow but steady progress towards the back door. It took a good five minutes.

Finally, his hand, outstretched beside him, hit upon the L-shaped handle, and he twisted it with a burst of energy and flung himself out the door. The freshness of the breeze was like a welcome slap in the face, jarring, but anything was better than that small-scale apocalypse.

He turned his gaze over the fields. There were a few Pokémon in sight, the nearer ones scurrying away from the sudden commotion he'd caused. Some Nidoran poked their heads up and watched him with wary eyes as he walked past them.

If a visitor were to describe Oak's laboratory, the first word to their mind would probably be some synonym of "large," which is a gross understatement. Oak's research encompassed all Pokémon, and so he had to be able to house all the Pokémon he was studying. As such, he had spent hundreds of millions of Pokéyen simply on the construction of natural habitats alone – everything from savannahs to forests, rivers, mountain ranges, swamps, old collapsed ruins. He'd even constructed an aquarium for salt water Pokémon, greenhouse for the more tropical climate Pokémon, an aviary, and even an ice box. Anything imaginable, he had, and anything he didn't have yet, he would build. It was all so natural it couldn't be anything but artificial, but the Pokémon didn't seem to mind, and that was enough to keep Oak happy.

It was nice to know the government's grants were being put to good use.

Satoshi himself had been to a scant few of the environments; most were too dangerous for even experienced veterans. A Magmar could heat a peak to volcanic heat on its own, let alone a pair, for example. (Luckily, most of the Pokémon at Oak's were fairly cooperative, and so mass destruction was always just barely avoided.) No, he stayed within the fields and sometimes the forest. If he was lucky, then the professor would be in the vicinity.

Still, just those two areas were large enough on their own. It would be impossible for him to find him before the lab opened. He fingered the whistle he kept around his neck, at his mother's request. Briefly, he pondered the consequences on the poor Nidoran's ears of what he was about to do, but he lifted the instrument to his lips anyways…

…and blew.

The shrill blast echoed through the open range, compounded by the startled shrieks by the rabbit Pokémon before they ran for dear mercy on their ears. He blew until he was out of breath, and still he blew, until he was red in the face and was forced to take a breath. Gasping, heaving, and panting, he glanced around again.

At first, there was nothing, but then, after a few minutes, there came a yell. A flailing figure, a man, appeared in the distance. A grin burst onto Satoshi's face as he ran towards what could only be Oak.

"-it! Wait! Don't come any closer!"

The words took a while to register in the boy's brain.

"Get back here, you rodent! Are you trying to break an old man's back? Stay still!"

He stopped and squinted into the distance again. It looked like the professor wasn't running towards him; rather, he was running in circles with his arms outstretched before him. If he stared long enough, Satoshi could just barely make out the flashes of electricity bursting free of the tall grass, always a few feet before Oak.

Positively beside himself with giddiness by this point, Satoshi set off again, this time with whistle in mouth. Every exhale was punctuated by a _fwheet fwheet_, and as he'd hoped, the bursts of static paused, then turned tail and started heading his way.

Oak had noticed the change in direction too. "Satoshi? Satoshi! Stop, not yet! He hasn't discharged yet!" hollered the professor, waving his arms frantically.

Satoshi ignored his calls and kept running. The two, human and mouse, almost collided had they not screeched to a stop a few feet from each other. They stared, taking each other in. The boy leaned back a bit, seeing that Oak was right; there were still bolts crackling from those red cheeks. The Pokémon, on his part, looked up, and, immediately sensing what the problem was, let loose a powerful burst of electricity that forced Satoshi to throw his hand up to cover his eyes. But before long the hissing was gone and all that sat there was a relatively harmless mouse Pokémon.

With the danger gone, Satoshi knelt with arms held open, and into them leapt the Pikachu. The boy buried his face in the rodent's soft fur, relishing in the soft coo that was the Pokémon's version of a welcome back.

He didn't need a voice to communicate with his old friend, whom he had known since he was a Pichu. Years of friendship had helped them overcome that obstacle long ago, and it was with joy and hope that he would be starting his Pokémon journey that day, with someone who understood him perfectly standing by his side.


	3. Pokedex

I have forgone creative titles in this story. Then again, my titles have always been pulled out of the middle of nowhere, so it's not really anything unusual, per se. The titles are there for the sake of you readers anyways, for navigation.

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><p><strong>Chapter 2<strong>

Satoshi didn't lift his head from Pikachu's soft fur when the Professor began addressing him. He smelled of earth and rain and forest underneath all the rodent, and really, it was quite comforting.

"Phew, that was a close one!" exclaimed Oak, propping himself on his knees as he fought for breath. After a moment, he continued, "I never know how you do it, my boy. It's quite amazing, the way you two communicate."

This was nothing new. In fact, Satoshi heard it almost every time he visited, whether he was playing with Pikachu or whether he was helping feed the Pidgeys. He knew how to coax a scared Ratatta out of its hole, and he knew how to approach the wary Nidoran. Oak had always enthusiastically asked the boy what he did, but in response, Satoshi could only shrug. Really, he didn't know; he just did what came naturally to him.

It was only here he could act this way, anyways. Outside the high fences and beyond the borders of the laboratory, his "talent" was not met with such welcome.

Ignoring the professor, he continued to squeeze Pikachu tight, despite his wiggling attempts to get free.

Satoshi turned, yellow mouse still in his arms, back to the lab. Seeing his change in direction, Oak hastily followed. "You sure are early, though, Satoshi," he said, "Ready to get a head start on your Pokemon journey?"

The boy nodded.

"It will be lonely without you here… And then my grandson is setting off today, too. I suppose you've heard that already, though. I will be a lonely old man, just me and the Pokemon."

Everybody knew what Shigeru Oak was doing. It was just the way the town was. He was always the talk, the gossip spilling from the girls' mouths. Satoshi carefully kept his expression neutral as he returned a curt nod, jerkier than before.

His change in mood must have been apparent, though, because Prof. Oak then continued carefully, "I'm sorry that you two have drifted so far apart. I remember when you two used to be inseparable. What was the expression? 'Joined at the hip?' 'Two parts of a Magneton?'"

Satoshi only shrugged. Bygones were bygones, or so he liked to think.

They made their way back to the lab. Upon seeing the state in which he and his assistants (though primarily he) had left the place, he chuckled sheepishly before sweeping a table clean, sending the various empty Pokeballs and unidentifiable metal devices onto the floor. "Don't worry about those," he said, "I'll clean it up later." Satoshi somehow doubted it, but he only continued petting Pikachu's head in response. "Here, have a seat."

He took the offer while the professor hurried away into the kitchen. "Oh where is it… Would you like some tea, Satoshi?" he called.

Since the other wouldn't see his nod, the boy replied by clapping once.

"All right, it'll be done in a minute or two. Meanwhile… Where did I put the blasted thing?" Satoshi heard sounds of things shifting and being shoved around. Occasionally this was accompanied by some clanging and crashing. Starting to get alarmed, he stood from his seat, letting the yellow mouse drop onto the floor and explore the lab, as he made his way over. He knocked on the door frame, causing Oak to jump and swerve around.

"Oh, my boy, don't startle me like that!" the man said, placing a hand over his heart. "I have had one too many scares in my old age. I don't need any more!"

Satoshi looked around, but he couldn't find any pen or paper in the near vicinity. Oak, unfortunately, didn't know any signing either, so it was impossible for him to convey his question. Sensing what he wanted to know, though, the professor answered. "There was something I wanted to show you and, if possible, ask a favor from you. However, I seem to have misplaced it…"

Satoshi tilted his head questioningly and shrugged his shoulders. 'What?' he clearly gestured, with his hands in the air.

"Oh, it's … hmm… Aha! Found it!" Oak bent over and, moving aside a pile of old newspapers that were very likely over a year old, pulled out a small red device. "I wonder how it got down there? Must have been swept under by accident." Seeing the boy's skeptical look, though, he huffed indignantly, "What, you don't think I clean my laboratory? Of course I do!"

Stare.

"Just … not very often." Oak coughed into his fist. "Ahem, here. This is for you. It's the newest model, and I think you'll find it useful. I remember uploading it with the newest information, but we can check. With Pokemon, there are new discoveries every day, so it's always best to link it to a computer to update it. Remember that."

Satoshi accepted the small machine and turned it over in his hand. It looked kind of like a wallet, except larger and completely metallic. There was a small blue glass button at the top corner. He saw a depression on one side and he pressed it; immediately, it flipped open, causing Satoshi to almost drop the thing.

A Pokedex. He'd only ever heard of them before. This was his first time actually touching one. He stroked the keyboard, which was utterly clean and devoid of smudges. It looked like, despite the location they'd found it in, the device was in completely mint condition.

His wonder must have shown on his face, because Professor Oak chuckled. "I'm glad you like it. Come on, I'll explain it while we update its memory," he said as they made their way over to the computer. The professor drew out a cable and plugged it into a slot on the side of the Pokedex.

"You know the basics of a Pokedex, correct?" Seeing Satoshi's affirmation, Oak continued, "I also added to its encyclopedic the ability to record what Pokemon you've either seen or have captured, for fun. If you want, you could also capture them all and send them in to me," he added hopefully. "I am still missing quite a few species, especially of the rarer or the more evolved varieties…" Seeing Satoshi's raised eyebrow, Oak hastily continued. "Of course, you can also just use it to keep track of your progress. They say a true Master is one who's traveled the world and explored its four corners. Unfortunately, there are only Pokemon from our region in here, but that can easily be fixed when the time comes with patches and the like."

A Master. That was the title granted to any who received eight badges. (As such, the Indigo League battles were often called the "Battle between Masters," because that was precisely what they were.) It was one every kid – and adult, really – aspired to. Becoming a Master was more than just a dream to be the winner, to be the best. Earning all eight badges proved that you had a certain worth in character, that you were well-qualified for practically any job Kanto had to offer; in other words, you were practically guaranteed a secure, happy job in the field you wished for the rest of your life (or until you had to go renew your badge in the next year).

Oak looked up at the clock. "You're very early for the official opening of the lab, but I suppose we can make an exception for you. After all, you already know which Pokemon you want as your starting companion, right?"

There was really no question about it. Satoshi looked around for Pikachu and found him sitting on top of a bookshelf, sniffing curiously at the dusty tomes lying in the corner. The sight brought a smile to his face when the mouse sneezed with a high-pitched squeak. He looked over and found the professor's lips upturned as well.

"I remember when it was just a Pichu. You always played with it in your spare time. Thanks to that, though, it never really bonded with anyone who came to pick a Pokemon from the lab. Ah, how time flies…" A beep came from the computer. "Oh! It's done. Let's see… No, there wasn't much new information, but there were some discoveries on some of the rarer species. I won't apply to your journey in the near future, but I do believe it will be quite interesting reading for your nights in the wilderness."

Satoshi accepted the Pokedex. Just as a test, he pointed the item at his new Pokemon. Immediately, the screen flashed, and a picture of the rodent came up. A whole page of text also appeared on the inside screen, more than the boy wanted to read at the moment. He looked up at Oak and gestured for pen and paper, and was happily obliged.

"Thank you," he wrote in a quick scrawl.

"You're quite welcome. Trust me, you'll be doing me a favor too when you capture different Pokemon. After all, each individual of the species is different, and there is so much lacking from this area that I will probably never see the end of new discoveries even in the most commonplace of species. Besides, the purpose of the journey is for discovery, or at least that's what I believe. I admit, I'm a little biased for giving my students and friends a small push in fostering interest in Pokemon."

"Not a very subtle push," replied Satoshi on the paper.

The two (and Pikachu) jumped when the clock started chiming 8 o' clock. "Oh dear, look at the time! The rest of the children will arrive any minute." Oak started piling all the papers together in a pile, clearing up more desk space. "I'm sorry Satoshi, but the others would probably see favoritism if they saw I'd already given you a Pokemon."

The boy huffed, but he didn't really want to see the others either. He put blew into his whistle twice. Pikachu's ears twitched, and immediately he responded by leaping into Satoshi's arms.

"Before I forget," the Professor said at the door, "you could give your Pokemon a nickname, if you wish, to distinguish it from all the other Pikachu in the world. After all, as I have always said, each individual is different."

He already had an idea for a name in his mind. He turned and hurried down the dirt path he'd run up only a mere hour ago, this time with Pikachu in his arms. If possible, he wanted to avoid seeing or being seen by anyone; it would just create useless trouble for him.

Unfortunately, that was not to be. The moment he turned around the edge of a forest, he came face to face with the one person he wanted to see the least.

Shigeru.


End file.
